RECAP Guest Blog: Transition begins before September

Lucy Fox is an Assistant Headteacher and Head of Foundations in Coventry. She is an early years specialist and education writer with published work in TES, Schools Week, Early Years Educator and The Guardian.

Lucy is passionate about protecting the joy of childhood and creating environments that meet children at their point of need through relationships, play and language rich practice.

Transition begins before September

Transition is often talked about in schools as a period of tension. There is an overwhelming assumption that change will naturally lead to distress or dysregulation for young children, and what often follows is a desire to “fix” the behaviour after the fact.

Every September, schools brace themselves for the inevitable settling in period. It is not unusual to hear adults talk about children “just needing time to adjust” or “just needing support to learn how things work”.

In many schools, transition is still viewed as a short handover period before the “real learning” begins. But what if the quality of the September we experience is directly linked to the quality of the transition we invested in during June and July? I find myself wondering whether much of what we describe as “settling in” is actually a reflection of how little we have invested beforehand in relationships, belonging and emotional security.

Transition is the first phase of learning

Transition is not separate from learning. It is the first phase of learning itself. Rather than focusing solely on supporting dysregulation once it happens, perhaps we should also be asking how we can create transitions that reduce the likelihood of children feeling overwhelmed in the first place. In the early years, we know and understand that the prime areas of learning underpin the whole of child development and the ability for a child to reach his/her full potential.

We know how important a child’s “personal, social and emotional development” is, and we know that the building blocks of this vital strand start with relationships. If relationships sit at the heart of children's emotional wellbeing, then transition should be viewed as an opportunity to begin building those relationships long before the first day of school.

Transition is relational, not administrative

Rather than viewing transition as a list of tick box exercises to be completed by the end of the school year, we should be looking at the relationships we are seeking to build with our newest pupils and thinking about how we can design a period of time which best reflects our desired outcome. And the truth is that this can look different year on year, or even pupil to pupil. Too often, transition becomes centred around logistics such as staff time and cover, and this means that the relationships we are seeking to build get lost in the transactional nature of the task.

We must remember that children do not arrive at school as blank slates on the first day of term. They bring with them a whole host of previous experiences, emotions, thought processes and goals. Before children can engage confidently in learning, they need to feel emotionally safe. In order for this to happen, we must invest time in learning the identity they are bringing with them. Investing in relationships is vital for any starting point.

What strong transition looks like

Strong transition work begins long before children walk through the classroom doors in September. Strong provisions are those that recognise the importance of investing a good amount of time in the summer months building relationships with families. This can change the dynamics of transition completely. We know that children who feel known to adults often arrive with a greater sense of confidence and emotional security, two things that early years practitioners are recognising as concepts that children are struggling with in the autumn term. It makes sense then to rethink the way we view the transition period in the summer months.

Home visits are an invaluable place to start when thinking about getting to know your families. Many schools are quick to dismiss these as inconvenient, taking staff and time out of the school day. However, the knowledge gained by spending time in an environment natural to the child and his/her parents can be second to none.

Concerns can be seen or heard before the child has started school and support can be put in place long before their time with you begins. It’s important to remember that parents also need transition to feel relational rather than transactional, and taking the time to visit them, getting to know their environments and culture is a powerful way to start this relationship.

During one home visit, I met a child who was clearly very anxious about unfamiliar adults coming into his space, but proudly showed me a collection of toy animals. By September, those animals had become the starting point for many of our interactions. What could have felt like a completely new relationship already had a foundation. The transition had started weeks before the first day of school.

Six small transition investments that pay off in September

Transition does not have to involve large budgets or complicated systems. Often, the most powerful approaches are the simplest. Anything that reduces uncertainty and increases familiarity can have a significant impact on how confidently children arrive in September.

1. Home visits

   Home visits allow practitioners to meet children and families in a space where the child already feels secure. They give adults valuable insight into family life, communication, interests, culture and potential barriers before the child has even started school.

2. Stay and play sessions

   These sessions give children time to explore the environment alongside trusted adults. They are not just visits to the classroom. They are opportunities for children to begin building familiarity with spaces, resources, routines and people.

3. Photo books or transition packs

   Photographs of key adults, toilets, cloakrooms, outdoor spaces and key classroom areas can help families revisit school throughout the summer. For some children, seeing these images repeatedly can reduce uncertainty before September.

4. Gathering children’s interests

  Taking the time to find out what children love before they arrive gives practitioners immediate ways to connect. A favourite story, toy, song, animal or interest can become the bridge between home and school in those first few days. Remembering the little things is important.

5. Nursery and childminder conversations

   Where children have attended another setting, transition conversations should go beyond paperwork. The most useful information is often relational and holistic: what comforts the child? How do they communicate? What helps them engage? And what might overwhelm them?

6. Clear messages to parents about school readiness

   Parents need to know what matters most. Rather than encouraging families to spend the summer practising formal academic skills, schools can use transition to emphasise communication, independence, confidence, play, rest and everyday routines.

None of these approaches remove the challenge of transition entirely. Children will still experience change and for many this can be a difficult time. Some will still find separation difficult and so will some parents or carers. But these small investments mean that, in September, adults are not starting from nothing. Relationships have already begun. Familiarity has already been built. The child is already known.

The autumn payoff

The investment made in the summer months pays off in the autumn because practitioners are no longer trying to build everything from scratch. They already know something about the child. Families already know something about the setting. Children have already begun to form a picture of the adults, spaces and routines that will become part of their everyday lives.

This does not mean September becomes easy. It means September becomes more informed. Adults may feel they are able to respond more quickly because they understand the child more deeply. They may notice patterns sooner, make adjustments earlier and support emotional security with greater confidence.

Investment in transition should not be seen as a soft extra. If we want children to arrive in September feeling secure enough to explore, communicate, play and learn, transition cannot be reduced to a few visits, a meeting and a handover form.

The summer term needs to be understood as the beginning of the relationship for the next academic year.

The question is not whether we have time to invest in transition during this time. The question is whether we can afford not to.